Department for Transport

International Travel Update

Grant Shapps: Red List ReviewThe Government has conducted a further review of the red list under our new and simplified system of international travel. From 4am on Monday 1 November, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela will be removed from the red list.Delta is now the dominant variant in most countries around the world. This means the risk of known variants entering the UK has reduced and the Government can confidently remove these seven destinations from the red list, with decisions informed by UK Health Security Agency’s assessment. We will keep the red list in place as a precautionary measure to protect public health, and we are prepared to add countries and territories if needed as the UK’s first line of defence if the situation changes.Expansion of the Inbound Vaccination PolicyFrom 4am on Monday 1 November, we will expand our inbound vaccination policy to include eligible fully vaccinated passengers who have not been in a red list country in the ten days before their arrival into the UK, to over 30 countries and territories: AngolaArgentinaArmeniaAzerbaijanBelizeBotswanaCambodiaCosta RicaDjiboutiEswatiniGuyanaHondurasLebanonLesothoMadagascarMauritiusMongoliaNepalOccupied Palestinian TerritoriesPanamaPeruRwandaSeychellesSierra LeoneSri LankaSurinameTanzaniaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaUgandaUruguayThis will also include all British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, who previously qualified for fully vaccinated travel as part of the UK overseas vaccination policy.Our inbound vaccination policy now covers over 135 countries and territories, and eligible fully vaccinated passengers and under 18s resident in those countries will be treated the same as those vaccinated in the UK. Eligible fully vaccinated passengers who have not been in a red list country in the ten days before their arrival into the UK will no longer need to take a pre-departure test before their departure, a post-arrival test on day 8 or self-isolate upon their arrival.Whilst public health is a devolved matter, UK Government works closely with the devolved administrations on any changes to international travel and aims to ensure a whole UK approach. The devolved administrations will be aligning to the policies set out in this statement.Finally, since 4am on 24 October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers and most under 18s arriving in England have been able to use a cheaper lateral flow device test post-arrival, with a free confirmatory PCR test if they receive a positive result. The devolved administrations have also confirmed that such passengers arriving in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will from 31 October be able to choose to take a lateral flow test instead of a PCR test.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Project Gigabit Autumn Update

Julia Lopez: Today we have published the third Project Gigabit quarterly update and, thanks to the work of industry and our record £5 billion investment, we are making phenomenal progress delivering the biggest broadband rollout in UK history.We are on track for 85% gigabit coverage by 2025 and we have now passed the connectivity milestone of more than 57 per cent of UK homes and businesses that can now access the fastest broadband speeds available.In this Project Gigabit Autumn Update, we report on a significant further expansion in commercial plans, including more telecom providers focused on building in under-served rural areas. Greater commercial investment is positive for the UK and shows strong market confidence in customer demand for gigabit infrastructure.This delivery plan update also reports on:progress with and changes to Phase 1 roll-outs and Phase 2 procurements;sequencing and dates of English Phase 3 rural projects, covering around 500,000 premises in Essex, Lincolnshire, Devon & Somerset, Herefordshire & Gloucestershire, Dorset, Cheshire, and North Yorkshire;an update on how we are utilising Gigabit Voucher subsidy as part of our rollout plans;information on the evaluation of the benefits of our Superfast Broadband programme; anddetails of an additional £8 million to deliver full-fibre to 3,600 premises in Scotland, as part of the Scottish Government's R100 project, and c.£22.6m to connect rural and remote parts of Northern Ireland, and information on the Welsh Government’s Open Market Review and scheduled next steps.Gigabit broadband will bring much faster and more reliable connectivity to rural and hard-to-reach communities. This will make them more attractive places for people to settle, raise families and start and grow businesses, improve education and healthcare services and increase accessibility.This is how we level up and strengthen our Union - ensuring rural communities in every part of the UK have the same chances and opportunities as our urban towns and cities. That’s why this is at the top of the Government’s agenda, and as Secretary of State, I am fully committed to doing everything I can to make Project Gigabit a UK success story.I will place a copy of the Project Gigabit Delivery Plan Autumn Update in the Libraries of both Houses.

Scotland Office

Contingencies Fund Advance

Mr Alister Jack: I hereby give notice of the Scotland Office’s intention to seek a repayable cash advance from the Contingencies Fund of £12,000,000,000. The Department requires an advance to meet the Scottish Government’s cash requirements pending parliamentary approval of the 2021-22 supplementary estimate. The Scottish Government is operating within its budgets so this does not represent additional spending. However, an increase in net cash requirement will be sought in the supplementary estimate so accessing the Contingencies Fund will allow the Scottish Government to fund this existing spending in the meantime. The advance will be repaid immediately following approval of the supplementary estimate. Parliamentary approval for additional non-budget expenditure of £12,000,000,000 will be sought in a supplementary estimate for the Scotland Office. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £12,000,000,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Default Tariff Cap: Effective Competition Decision

Greg Hands: The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018 enables the default tariff (price cap) on standard variable and default energy tariffs to be extended on an annual basis up to end of 2023 at the latest. These annual extensions are dependent on an assessment and statement that I make every year, by 31st October, on whether the conditions for effective competition are in place for domestic supply contracts. I am confirming today that the price cap mechanism will remain in place for 2022 as the conditions for effective competition are not yet in place for domestic supply contracts. As required by legislation, the independent energy regulator, Ofgem, has carried out an assessment into whether the conditions are in place for effective competition in domestic supply contracts this year. Ofgem have been transparent in how they made their assessment, and their report is clear and thorough. Ofgem assess that these conditions have not been met and recommend that the price cap mechanism should be extended. The level of the price cap is a separate matter for Ofgem to determine.

Women and Equalities

Announcement of a Consultation on How to Ban Conversion Therapy

Elizabeth Truss: This Government is committed to building a society in which the abhorrent practice of so called ‘conversion therapy’ no longer takes place. It is clear that, at present, gaps remain in the law that allow damaging practices to continue.Today we take another step towards ending that, as we launch a public consultation on how we plan to ban these practices. The consultation will be open for 6 weeks, closing on Friday 10 December and we encourage as many people as possible to contribute their views.The link to the consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapyConversion therapy does not work and can cause long lasting damage. The Government is determined to protect LGBT people from this harm.I also want to reassure those who may have concerns about the impact of this ban on clinicians’ independence as well as on freedom of speech. Core freedoms, such as freedom of choice, speech and belief, are central to these proposals. It is vitally important that no person is forced or coerced into conversion therapy, and that young people are supported in exploring their identity without being encouraged towards one particular path. We will continue to protect under-18s from being channelled into irreversible decisions. These proposals do not alter the existing clinical regulatory framework or the independence of regulated clinicians working within their professional obligations.Equality Ministers and our officials have already heard views from a wide range of stakeholders, including victims of conversion therapy, LGBT organisations, faith groups, psychiatric and counselling bodies. Their experiences and advice have helped shape our proposals, and we now welcome the views of stakeholders and the wider public on our next steps.The consultation seeks views on a comprehensive package of proposed measures. These include a new criminal offence as well as sentence uplifts for existing criminal offences. We will also introduce Conversion Therapy Protection Orders, remove revenue streams from organisations which offer these practices and restrict the promotion of conversion therapies online.It is also vital that those who have been subject to or are at risk of these abhorrent practices receive the support they need. This administration is the first UK Government to commit to providing such support. We will therefore be launching a competitive tendering process in November for a new Government-funded support service for victims and those at risk of conversion therapy.After the consultation has closed, results will be analysed, for publication in due course, and will inform the Government’s next steps in preparing legislation for Spring 2022.I am laying the consultation document as a Command Paper today and it will be available on GOV.UK for people to respond to.